To Say Goodbye
by TheGreatestLoveStory
Summary: Hannah has one last thing to do before leaving Washington, D.C.


**A/N**: My first Bones story. I didn't think I would write for this show, but I caved in to my need for a scene like this. They showed Parker warming up to Hannah, but I wanted to see Parker's reaction when Hanna left. Here's my take on it.

/

Hannah stood outside the park watching as numerous children ran around and played. Dark sunglasses concealed her eyes as she let out tear after tear. She had finally got all of her stuff out of Seeley's place, and there was one last thing she needed to do before leaving D.C. But she knew that it was going to be hard. Possibly even harder than turning down Seeley's proposal. It had killed her to do it, but she couldn't marry him when she was never going to be ready to get married. Of course it had crushed him and killed their relationship, but it was a necessary evil. She took off her sunglasses as she scanned the park for the one face she was looking for.

When she saw him, she had to stifle a sob. She couldn't believe she had become so attached to him, but after he had come to trust her, their relationship had sprung so easily. They spent time together and talked about everything, they even kept secrets from Seeley. Albeit, they were such meaningless secrets: "Don't tell your dad about this ice cream," or "Let's just keep this movie between the two of us." Still, having secrets with Parker was something she'd never had before. Her job as a reporter was to expose the truth, and she used the knowledge she had to her gain. But after Parker had come to trust her, she wasn't going to let him down. The kid had been let down before, and she was not about to let it happen again. Yet, here she stood about to break his heart, and just the thought of it broke her heart.

She wiped her eyes before taking her sunglasses off. When she did, Parker's eyes met hers and he ran over to greet her, a big smile plastered on his face. She did her best to hold back the tear that threatened to slide down her face.

"Hannah," Parker called, running up to her. She bent down and pulled him into a hug. When she pulled away, however, the kid saw that something was wrong; there was no hiding it. "What's wrong?"

_He sounds scared_ she thought. It was almost as if he knew that nothing she was going to say would lead to smiles and laughter. The boy was so perceptive and it reminder her of his father. She wondered if Parker would grow up to be in law enforcement. The thought of it brought a sad smile to her face, as she once again thought of Seeley. This was going to be so hard.

"I need to talk to you," she said slowly.

She reached for his hand and led him to a bench. After they sat down, Parker gazed up at her with quizzical eyes.

"You know I love you, right?" she asked. It was the truth, and Parker nodded slowly. "And that I love your father?" The confused look on his face was growing, and she knew she was going to have to cut to the chase. "Well, the thing is…" her voice caught, and she found it difficult to find the words to say to him. "Your father and I, we just… we want different things from our relationship, and when two people aren't on the same page, it's difficult to maintain a relationship."

Parker seemed to understand what she was trying to say, but he didn't want to accept it. "But he loves you," his voice was a little shaky. "And you make him so happy, and you said you love him."

"It's not that easy," she said. The first tear that she allowed him to see fell from her eye.

"You know I've heard this before," Parker said, turning away from her. In this moment, he looked so old despite his very young age. Of course he'd heard it before. His mom had probably said something similar when he asked her why she and Seeley weren't together. But at least his mother hadn't had to leave him.

"I know," she cried softly. "And I'm so sorry."

"You're going to leave, aren't you?" Hannah froze. How was this little kid so wise?

"Parker," she said, barely a whisper. She pulled him into another a hug. "Parker, I love you," she whispered into his ear, "but I have to leave. I wish I didn't have to, but I do. It's too hard here. And I'm sorry. I never wanted to hurt you." She pulled away and kissed him lightly on the forehead. She could see that he was starting to cry. "I love you," she said one last time, before getting up and walking away. She put on her sunglasses again and her walk turned into a sprint, as the tears let loose once again. Now she could go back to her life, and hate herself forever for breaking Seeley's heart, and then for breaking Parker's heart. But she had to say goodbye.


End file.
